Housing First - a Good Practice Briefing

By: Steve McKeown
Published: November 2008

The housing first model was developed in the United States and has demonstrated high degrees of success in both housing and supporting those who are chronically street homeless with multiple and complex needs. It is founded on the principle of housing being a basic human right and provides permanent accommodation for people straight from the street. The model has no preconditions of addressing wider social care and support needs.

Summary

As is evident from research to date, no single model of housing and support is likely to be effective for all homeless people with complex needs. Shelter has previously called for the consideration and development of new approaches.

The purpose of this briefing is not to advocate for any single model, but to examine the potential for the housing first approach to complement existing provision in the UK.